Danish coach Jacob Friis, head coach of the Finland national team, found himself in an awkward spot during the press conference ahead of the clash with Albania in the UEFA Nations League. He tried to crack a joke about Cristiano Ronaldo's crisis with the Portugal national team, but his quip drew no response from the assembled journalists.
French outlet "Radio Monte Carlo" reported that Friis spoke about his Finnish players' readiness for the Albania match before taking aim at Ronaldo's recent incident with Portugal. "Yesterday, none of the players left on a private jet, so they are all available. I have plenty of options," he said.
The gag fell flat. Silence swept the conference hall, nobody so much as chuckled, and the moment Friis meant to be light-hearted curdled into an embarrassing one in front of the press.
At the end of the conference, the Danish coach circled back to it, visibly put out by the lack of reaction. "You didn't get the joke at first," he told them, half-joking, prompting one journalist to reply: "Yes, I got it."
Mocking the situation, Friis added: "There was no reaction at all," before laughing and gesturing at the nature of the Finnish character. He signed off with: "You made me look like a fool!"